It Is Finished
by EndingsAndBeginnings
Summary: A sequel to It Is Written. As alliances are made and this justice war receives heavy blows on both sides, a victor may rise and finally win the battle. Unfortunately, it may also cause once-precious ties to break... LxOC, LightxOC, MelloxOC, and NearXOC.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to _It Is Finished, _the fourth story in the _It Is _series! I may or may not change the title as the story goes on, but until that happens, that's what it'll be called, so there.**

**Well, the process of this story has been slow-to-stopped for about 9 months, so I may have to slow the updating later on if I don't get my butt moving and the updates get closer to catching up to the part I'm still writing. So there we are.**

**I hope you enjoy the first chapter~ (Even though I'm less proud of this story so far, so...)**

**-Also sorry for the annoying recap, haha.. o3o**

* * *

"Natsumi!" Matsuda exclaimed, running up to me as I entered the room for my floor at NPA headquarters. He was gasping for air.

"What?" I asked blankly. "What is it?"

"We've got a sighting! We've got a sighting for Mello!" He grinned at me. "Isn't that great?"

I blinked. "Wow, really? That's awesome!"

"Yeah! And now we can prove Near wrong!"

I laughed at his enthusiasm as he led me to Aizawa's office. But… let me explain. My name is not Natsumi, or to be formal, it is not Natsumi Matsuo, either. That is an alias that I took on about six years ago, and got rid of about half a year ago. My _real _name is Natalie Hester, and I am a girl from the real world. I came here back when I was fifteen; now I was twenty-one. And all because of a weird island called Maxey Island, named after the first kid who disappeared there….

I wasn't the only one who'd arrived here six years ago. I came here with three people who were very close to me. Sam; the often-irritable but filled-with-love girl with long, dark brown, curly hair that she sometimes straightened. Currently nineteen. Sierra; the wearer of masks with medium-length, wavy, mouse brown hair. Also nineteen. Anna; the innocent one with long, wavy hair that was such a light brown some mistook it for blond. Now thirteen.

I myself was the one with short, brown hair that was often thought of as Light hair. Not that that mattered.

Each of us has seemed to pick our own sides these past six months. After the warehouse scene back in late January, Light had, of course, survived, and Kira had come back that March. Me. If you want detail on that, just go and read my second memoir. I'm not re-explaining _everything_. In fact, I'm just going to get to the point here.

As much as it annoys me to reiterate these points, I have to at the beginning of each new collection of memories here; for the benefit of my readers. If you remember clearly, well, bear with me.

Each person who comes from the real world has a mind sync, or as Beyond Birthday named it, a _Bond_ with someone from this world whom they have some sort of connection with it; most often through their pasts. I, for example, was Bonded to Light. Sam was Bonded to L, Sierra to Mello, Anna to Near…. And over time, I guess each of us drifted to those sides these past six months. I mean, back when we were back in the original story line of Death Note, I had been working against Kira. Now look at me; acting as Kira alongside Light and Mikami. Oh, the irony of my life….

As we left off last, I was in the hospital. Near was thinking up plans, as was Mello, and L was getting ready for returning to the Kira case after a month or so. More than that if you count the worldwide cases he'd worked on a month before the Sinful Murder Cases started. All with BB. In fact, it was B who killed Misa. And supposedly, B had died on June twenty-seventh, ending the case and causing L's first-ever loss on a case. It was rather upsetting for him.

But he was back on the Kira case again, which was great for those on his side, and not-so-great for Light and I.

In any case, I got out of the hospital a month or so ago. I think I remember going in early July…. Yes. Early July. Soon after I was freed from Mello's grasp…. And let me tell you, being kidnapped isn't exactly fun.

On Mikami's front, he was last taken in by Sara Shizu, and was still being taken care of and being well-hidden by the Shizu family.

B, who had lost his Bond Sophia back in the middle of June, had been breaking mentally ever since, last we checked. But he'd faked his death at the end of L's case, and we left off with him ready to pursue his next goal.

The date was August ninth, now. This is where we will begin.

"As it turns out," Matsuda explained animatedly, "Mello was last seen in Shinjuku! You remember Shinjuku, right?"

"Where B's body was found?" I asked blankly. "You know, I wasn't on that case…."

"No, no, I mean, that's where the old task force headquarters used to be! You remember that, right?"

"Oh, yeah…. Of course I remember that skyscraper, are you kidding? I just didn't know it was in Shinjuku at the time." I squinted at the ground as Matsuda pulled me along. "But… Light knew…."

Ah, that's another important matter: Light and I, along with Sam and L and Sierra and Mello, were at the final stage of the Bond. At this stage, what happens to one happens happens to the other, thoughts merge, views and ideologies are shared or balanced out…. It's creepy to just about everyone but the two who have it, actually.

"You think we'll be able to catch him, then?" Matsuda asked hopefully as I was pulled into Aizawa's office. Everyone was there already: Aizawa himself, Light, Mogi, and Ide. I was late today, see.

"It really depends upon how much he's moving around, or how well he's hidden," I answered Matsuda.

Aizawa frowned at us as Matsuda closed the door. "…Anyway, from here we'll center our searches throughout the Shinjuku area, particularly around where Mello was sighted. However, as he may be moving around from place to place, we _will_ keep an eye out all through Shinjuku." He eyed all of us carefully. "Is that understood?"

There were responses of confirmation.

"Let me know if you hear of any more sightings, alright?" he said, and we all responded accordingly. Aizawa returned to his desk and sat. "Meeting adjourned."

* * *

"Whatchya doin'?" Sierra asked a concentrating Matt, who seemed to be tinkering with some sort of contraption…thing. It was black and somewhat bulky, with lots of wiring. He was sitting on the couch in the main room as he worked.

"Making something," the redhead responded before setting the thing down and looking at her through his orange-tinted goggles. "I've got an idea, and for once I'm acting on it."

"Wow, not feeling as lazy today, then?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Nah, I just thought it would be useful later on…." He seemed to think for a moment. "We ditched the car April thirtieth," he said. "It's been fourteen weeks…. Or… to be more accurate… three months and ten days. 101 days in all. It's probably gone by now."

"Well, we don't need a ride anyway, really."

"Unless we need to make a fast break," Matt pointed out, pulling out a cigarette. He flicked his lighter on, and lit the cig before breathing it in and breathing out a stream of smoke.

"True," Sierra conceded, frowning at the smoke curling in the air.

"If you don't like me smoking, just walk away," he said, looking at her with his eyebrows raised.

"You should quit," she told him bluntly.

He rolled his shoulders in a shrug.

Sierra pursed her lips and looked up to the ceiling. "I just realized… I haven't talked to Anna and the others in a while…."

"If you think about it, you're kinda on opposing sides now, huh?" Matt remarked, leaning back on the couch. "Especially since the whole kidnapping thing in late June."

"Yeah…." Sierra tilted her head to the side. "It's weird. I almost miss the times where we were still all together, you know? It seems like so long ago now, huh? I wonder if it'll ever be like that again…."

Matt looked at her with his cigarette between his lips. "I guess we all miss some things," he spoke around the cancer stick. "And some of those things are hard to get back…." He looked up to the ceiling as he leaned his head back. "…Or even impossible…."

Sierra stared at him.

Mello came down the futuristic-looking stairs and spoke abruptly, without even looking at either of them. "Matt, I agree. We need our ride again."

Matt gazed at him blankly. "Uh… alright."

* * *

"You're thinking something up, right Near?" Anna asked, sitting on the ground with her hand cradling her head.

"Of course, Anna," Near responded as he carefully placed his next match on his tower. "I am actually beginning to think something up…. You see, Anna, it has to be perfect."

"Yeah, okay, otherwise we all die, right?"

"Not necessarily, but something like that, yes."

"…Because you can't die by the Death Note anymore ever since Light killed you?"

Near didn't respond for a moment. "Yes. Because that was erased." Yes, just like it was erased when B died, and when I died, and when Light died… all in the In-Between, that place between my world and this world.

"Yeah…." There was a pause. The only sound was of Gevanni and Halle's idle conversation. Rester was silent as he worked. "Hey, Near?"

"Yes, Anna?" Near responded.

"Do you think I'll be able to see Sierra again soon?"

Near glanced at her, not responding for a moment. "Well, Anna, it may be awhile. You are on the side of Near, and she is on the side of Mello, and Near and Mello are inevitably on opposing sides. You may be able to see her… if ever we confront Mello… or if Mello is caught…. However, I don't believe you'll be able to spend any real quality time with your sister until the Kira case is over."

"I hate the Kira case," Anna huffed, flopping onto the ground. "I wish it would just end."

"Wishing doesn't get anyone anywhere."

Anna didn't respond, just stared up into the bright lights of the ceiling. "Near," she said eventually, "why does it seem like everyone's being pulled apart?"

Near didn't respond at first, so Anna went on. "I mean… Sierra I haven't talked to in over a month…. Maybe month_s_, plural. I miss her. And she hasn't talked to anyone else, either, that I know of…. Aunt Natalie is here, yeah, but…. I dunno. Something's different. Sam… Sam is mostly with L, doing some sort of case, whether it's that BB case or the Kira case. And ever since she ran off to America all those years ago, I guess she hasn't been as close somehow…. Even with Aunt Natalie. And Sam and Aunt Natalie are best friends, you know. But now… when I watch them talk… it's almost like there's something hiding in their conversations that I can't see. It isn't the _same _as it used to be. Why, Near?"

Near was silent for a few beats. "…Well, Anna, it seems the four of you are beginning to go your separate ways. People do that. Relationships; friends and such… those things don't ever last."

"Yes they do," Anna frowned. "What are you talking about?" Near paused in his stacking of matches, then resumed. "It's just… I want it back to normal."

"Well, Anna…" said Near, putting each match onto his structure in almost a rhythmic motion, "…for your sake, I hope one day it does go back."

"Thanks, Near," Anna answered him sincerely, and sighed.

* * *

"I found it!" Sam exclaimed, even though L would inevitably know it the moment she did find it. L looked over one last thing on his laptop. He was looking at a database of all of the heart attacks listed throughout the world, seeing how the rates had changed from before Kira's fake fall to now. He needed to know for sure there weren't more than the three Kiras he knew of. He may be able to get a vague notion of whether he was right or wrong by seeing how many heart attacks were had over this expanse of time….

The black-haired detective walked over to Sam from his chair. Sam was on the bed at the moment, so L would peer over to the screen she had up, his eyes wide as ever. He put his index finger to his lips as she turned the computer to face him. To be honest, he saw no point in Sam showing him. He knew what he was looking at before he saw it due to the Bond. But no matter. He looked anyway to the page of what were apparently the perfect rings. He knew Sam's thoughts, so she did not voice them. Nor did L have to voice his intentions as he pulled out his cell phone.

"And you're sure?" he asked Sam, and she nodded, looking at the screen again.

He took note of the number on the screen and dialed the number with one finger, then held up the phone to his ear with his thumb and forefinger. Sam allowed herself to smile ever so slightly as she listened to his conversation.

"You want them by _tomorrow_?" the man asked.

"Yes, that is correct."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't think—"

"I will pay extra, if you like. As much as it takes."

Closing her eyes, Sam leaned back on the bed comfortably and stretched. Somehow, even with the loss they'd made and the perilous task known as the Kira case ahead, she felt rather content about it all. Almost _hopeful_. Justice would prevail here, and somehow everything would turn out alright. At least, that was how it felt…. _Well, Sam, let's see how long that feeling lasts,_ she thought to herself.

* * *

Light returned home to his empty apartment that night, sparing only a glance at the now-uninhabited apartment that he and Misa used to live in before he moved out and she was killed. Over the past month, he and I had sorted out Misa's things at last, and now there was nothing that hadn't been taken care of save for her cross necklace, kept in remembrance of her. Respect. Light walked on to his own apartment to find another note on his doorstep. He frowned slightly and leaned to pick it up as he pulled out his keys.

He'd been getting these notes for a while now. The first time he'd gotten one, in early July, it had simply read, '_I'd like to meet you, Kira_.' Light hadn't known what to think at first. He just stared at the note for a bit. It was… a threat? A warning? Who had written it? Were they expecting a response?

_But responding would be like confirming I'm Kira…. Unless…. _He frowned. _But this could be just a work of Near, or Mello, or even L. If it is them, they're just trying for a reaction…._ He gave a _tch_ and ripped the note in half before throwing it into the garbage.

However, he received another note the next night.

_I know that you think this may be L... or Near... or Mello... But I can assure you that it isn't, Light Yagami. In fact, that's a horrible thought. I don't like L, and I despise Near. I'm not too keen on Mello, either, actually. I understand this isn't nearly enough to prove I'm not you're enemy, however, so it seems we'll have to play a game of trust. I don't necessarily have proof, so you'll have to trust me for your sake. What do you say, Kira?_

Light had frowned at the note. _Why is he writing in English? No, that's not the question here…. Who _is _he, if he's not L, Near, or Mello? This doesn't seem like anything they would do…. _He crinkled the paper in his hand. _He could very well be a threat. We might… we might need to get rid of him._

However, the writer gave no hint as to who it could be over time. He wrote of how he wasn't Kira's enemy and that he simply wanted to meet us, as he had stated in his first note. He hinted that he knew about me, too, and he kept revealing bits and pieces, almost _playing _with us, until at last he wrote,

_I'd like a deal._

Short, blunt, and to the point. Just like his first message. After this note, though, Light hadn't received any more slips of paper.

…Until tonight, that is. It had been a bit less than three weeks now, we thought. Ryuk was cackling behind Light as they entered his apartment and he flipped on the light switch. He dropped his keys into his pocket, and opened the folded paper.

_Friday. August 13th. 4 pm. The cafe you like to go to. I'll be waiting at the back table where it's harder for others to hear. Bring your friend if you'd like. We'll be meeting soon._

The note was relatively short and mostly informational, but it made its point. This Friday, Light and I would meet this message-writer in the café Light used to go to so often. How he knew about that café, we weren't sure, however. From there we would decide whether we would protest to being Kira or accept his accusation. It was Monday. Four more days, and the mystery man would be revealed. Curiosity killed the cat, it is said.

Let's just hope that wasn't the case.

* * *

**And there we are! For now, look forward for a normal update every Wednesday; I'll let you know if there is a change~**

_**Fun Fact**_**: This wasn't originally going to be the final story in the series, but because of my ongoing writers' block, I'm thinking this is the last one. (Also resulting in a slightly different ending than I had originally intended, too.)**

**Review? For a new story!**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Firestripe49**_**:** I cannot confirm or deny that theory. c: I think we find out who it is...next chapter? Maybe.

_**B**_**: **It does rather suck. Though if you have a lot of ideas at once, that's just overwhelming... '^' You don't know which one to go with and you get inconsistent...ah. Or at least, that's what happens with me in that case.

_**TheBlackArtist**_**: **Don't you worry, Anna and Near will be reaching the final stage eventually. ^^

**Guys! We got to 400 reviews for It Is Written! I love all of you! I...I just shouldn't do a double update because I don't want you guys to catch up too fast. So I send you love and cookies! :D Yay!**

**And, uh, happy Valentine's Day! Yeah!**

**...Well, if you like fluff and/or LSam, this is the chapter for you. As always, I'm nervous about fluff, so..here.**

**Enjoy?**

* * *

Sam and L approached the jewelry shop together, despite the fact L was inwardly cringing at the fact they were in public. In a city. With lots of people. And one of them was _looking at him_….

But there was a task he had to do, his Bond and his parents in mind. Sam wanted to carry out the task _with_ L, thus they would do so. They walked into the shop, a small bell tinkling as they entered. A man with thinning hair looked up from his desk to look at them; it seemed that the man had originally been inspecting some jewels. "Ah," he smiled, and stood. "How may I help you?" he asked the couple, walking over to them. His eyes were glinting.

L tilted his head slightly, his eyes still wide. Sam thought of how he looked like a puppy. "I was the man who called yesterday asking for two wedding rings," he said to the man.

"Ah, of course," the man smiled, and held out his hand to L. L took it awkwardly. "Mr. Ryuzaki, correct?"

"Yes, that is correct. And this is my fiancée, Samantha." He gestured oddly to Sam, who was beginning to go red due to the conversation.

"Nice to meet you," the man said, holding out his hand to her. She shook it. "I am Takahashi. I apologize if my nephew was unkind, there, on the phone. Of course we could have your rings ready by today." He smiled wryly. "It would just mean a little more work for him, and he doesn't like work." He paused. "Come, let me show you your rings, then."

Takahashi led them behind the display cases and to his desk. On two ring holders were their rings: one was a golden band with a beautiful blue diamond, and the other was a blue band with a lovely yellow diamond. Each was the reverse of the other. "This is what you asked for, yes?" the man asked, a smile wrinkling his cheeks.

"Yes…," Sam answered him.

"Would you like to try them on to ensure that they fit?" He raised his eyebrows. "Or are you saving it for the actual occasion?"

A smile touched upon L's lips. "We'll be saving it," he said. He paid Takahashi his dues, and the two left, the man wishing them well as they did so. L carefully placed the rings in the pocket of his jeans. His hand closed around the two rings as they walked, both hands in his pockets. The hotel they currently inhabited was nearby, so it didn't take long for them to reach it and enter into its lobby.

They would reach their room on the thirty-first floor, and L would place the rings gently on the dresser before turning to Sam and saying, "I think this calls for cake." There was a pause. Sam blinked; her face was still a light pink from her lasting blush. Without another word, L made his way to the kitchen area of the hotel room and began taking out some ingredients. Roger hadn't given them cake, so they would have to make their own cake. It was only the afternoon. They had lots of time….

Today would be one of L's rare days off that usually only came around once every few years. They would make their cake to the best of their ability…. Watari used to bake with L, after all, so they would surely do alright….

It was after L had taken everything out that Sam joined him in the kitchen. "You know how this ended last time," she said. Her eyebrows were raised.

"Yes," L responded, and nonchalantly flipped a spoonful of confectioner's sugar back at her. Only then did he turn to her and smile ever so slightly. "Like this."

Sam sputtered. "_Well_." She paused, pursing her lips before licking at some of the confectioner's sugar. L tilted his head, a smile still touching his own lips.

"This won't be so fun at the final stage, will it?" he asked.

Sam scoffed, then snatched the vanilla extract and opened its lid to splash some in L's direction. L raised what would have been his eyebrows… that is, if he had had them. L flipped some heavy cream back in retaliation, just as Sam grabbed the salt and flung that at him. He paused. "…That's horrible. Really, Samantha? Salt?"

"Yep!" she chirped. There was a pause. Then, at the same time, the both of them grabbed at the whipped cream. Sam was laughing as the both of them grappled with the thing. One of them – being Bonded, they don't quite remember who it had been – pressed on the nozzle, consequently squirting the amazing stuff upwards. Sam tried to nom it mid-air, but failed miserably. Something like a laugh escaped L's lips. At this, Sam forced the nozzle to be pointed at his face.

A stream of whipped cream thus squirted at L, and he laughed. He _laughed_. L – the great L – was laughing…. Turns out love can work wonders on even the most impassive of men. And as L laughed and as Sam listened to the sound ring in her ears, L heard it too and could hear the laugh of his father sounding within his own laughter. It made him rather happy.

They played around with cake ingredients for awhile until the point where both of them could declare themselves cakes. "Well, we certainly made a cake or two," L remarked, scooping up a bit of whipped cream with his finger and sticking it in his mouth.

Sam giggled in response. "But we didn't exactly make the cake we were looking for."

"I suspected this would happen anyhow…." He paused. A slight smile still graced his features. He looked down at himself a moment before grabbing a towel and placing it simply on his head. "There. I am clean," he stated, and stepped onto the rug to grab the phone to call room service. "I realize you have a variety of cakes, yes?" he asked bluntly. The woman on the other end of the line told him that was right. "May I make a request for room 3109?" The woman told him yes, they would do their best.

And L began to explain the cake that they would want, Sam feeding him the information through her increasingly excited thoughts and ideas. A double layered French vanilla cake, the bottom layer with blue frosting and the top layer with gold. If it was possible, lacy decorations of the reverse – you know, blue on the yellow and yellow on the blue. Oh, and gold roses at the bottom, if you can. And maybe a tube of silver icing. Yes, of course he'll pay extra if he has to. What's it for? Why, it'll be his wedding cake. Yes, yes, thank you very much. Thank you. Goodbye.

L began wiping his face of whipped cream and other cake-related paraphernalia while Sam headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. She simply would not have a wedding while covered in cake ingredients. It would simply irk her too much. Besides, it would be a bit before the cake would get here, and the two of them already agreed that they wouldn't truly commence until the cake was here. Sure, they weren't having any sort of real ceremony, but they had their own little rules; a small amount of organization to this small wedding.

After wiping himself clean and changing his shirt, L sat in his chair while he waited… and when I write 'sat', I mean he actually _sat_, with one leg curled in front of him and the other with the knee pulled up. Immediately L realized that he would find it hard to actually relax after years of constant working. He leaned his head against the back of the chair to wait, sinking backwards…. Not entirely into Sam's consciousness, however, out of respect to the fact that she was, in fact, taking a shower.

True to her word, the shower was relatively short for her – half an hour – and fifteen minutes afterwards she came out, wandered over to his seat and looked at him for moment. He looked back. She sat awkwardly on the arm of the chair, pulling her lips into a thin line as she did so. He continued looking up at her. Shifted slightly, then put his arm across her back, his hand at her side. Sam fought the blush without avail. It was especially hard to fight the impending redness of the face when L pulled her closer to him, sliding her off of the arm of the chair and instead onto the cushion beside him, practically on his lap. She gave a little squeak, no more. …Except maybe for the extreme blush coloring her cheeks.

"Well, you're going to be my wife," he told her without much inflection, and tilted his head. "It only makes sense to be closer, Samantha."

"…Meh…," was Sam's intelligent response. There was a pause. Sam decided thinking was easier than speaking, and so decided to think rather than speak. _You know, that sounds so weird when you say it like that._

_Yes, who would have ever that that I would ever say that, huh? _He gave a sort of flat laugh. _I wasn't quite expecting it either; not anytime soon… or ever, actually._

Sam frowned ever so slightly. There was still a part of L that felt like he would lose her the moment he had her. Would fall back into darkness the moment he was really, truly happy again. It was something that simply had happened time and time again in his life; losing someone close to him, most often the only real person he let in, even if it wasn't entirely. It was almost an instinctive worry, even though he knew for a fact that Sam couldn't possibly die unless he went with her… unless, of course, she were poisoned.

And even with that, L would still be a little off-step here, with or without that worry. It seemed to have been a forever ago when L last showed affection or care toward another, so initially all he would hope for was that it would come naturally. But there were little things he felt the need to add, and the problem with that was _he wasn't good with this_. He was still _awkward_; it was hard to consciously act rather than just let it happen. Not only that, but… he wanted to live up to his father. Which was hard, considering he was working by memories, and only had stories told to show for his father's affection for his mother, considering L's mother died when he was three….

But he would try. He would try because… somehow, after all that had happened… he found himself in love. At least… surely this had to be the love his father told him so much about. Surely this was that beautiful yet fragile thing that his father would tell him to tread carefully on the path for it…. The thing he said could burn a hole through anyone who really felt it. A feeling you simply couldn't miss, his father told him. '_And you'll know when you find it,_' he had smiled. But to L, it seemed a little more than that. After withdrawing; after losing the ability to trust and care for others…. Losing his mother… then Auntie, the woman who saved his life… his father, his only support left… and then even Watari…. He wanted to stop letting people in. But the Bond had forced him to accept again faster, and L was thus forced to realize that he cared about Sam, whether he wanted to or not. Even though it took him five years of knowing her to start figuring it out. Even though he was actually rather confused at first. Yet… he never would have thought it could feel so nice to… to _live _again, if it could be called that.

It was actually only a month ago that he realized he did, in fact, love her, and from there he had decided for this occasion to happen. (Because after all his father had told him that if ever he found a woman that he truly loved, and she wanted him too, then he should take her as his wife…. L had just thought that would never happen, not after his father had died.)

So they would sit and wait for their cake, idly conversing through thought even though there was no point to do so at the final stage of the Bond…. They thought of little things; of how the cake would taste, of Sam's friend's reactions when they finally noticed the ring, of thoughtful ponderings on when others would be wed…. (_Like Matsuda. I wonder if he'll ever get married, L; what do you think?_)

Time would pass, and Sam would smile, always blushing but purely happy despite this. _I still can't believe I'm getting married, _Sam thought to him, even though he knew of her disbelief and actually was still getting used to the idea himself.

_Well, Samantha, _L responded, _just know that we are doing this with good reason, isn't that correct?_

…_What are you implying? _Sam answered even though she knew, her face reddening again.

_Well… the two of us love each other, correct?_

Sam turned her face away with a squeak, her face going red yet again. It seemed today was a blush-filled kind of day… for good reason. I mean, did he always have to say it right out like that? But she couldn't keep her face turned away for long, because L's hand came softly to her cheek, gently turning her face back to him so he could see her golden eyes. She blinked, her face going redder.

_Just know, _he thought, his thumb tenderly caressing her cheek, _that even if I don't express myself right, I do love you…. _

Her face grew steadily redder, and she worked to try and formulate a response, but… well, she was dying on the inside. _And know I… I love you too…._

_I know._ He found himself smiling.

There was a knocking on the hotel door, and L was impassive once more. "It's Roger," said a voice from behind the door, and L stood, sliding his leg out from beneath Sam.

"Come in," said L, walking over to the door.

The door handle turned and the door opened. Roger pushed in a cart with the cake L had asked for. Roger looked at L with a frown. "L, I was told you ordered a cake…."

"Yes, this is correct," L confirmed. "Thank you for bringing it up, Roger. We appreciate it."

Roger sighed heavily as he wheeled in the cake. "I know you have a day off today, L, but isn't this a little much?"

"It is a special occasion," he responded to the old man, and Roger looked at him.

"And I suppose you're not going to tell me what this special occasion is, right?" he asked the detective.

"That is correct," said L, and Roger sighed again before heading out, giving his little farewells. After the door was closed, their not-so-traditional ceremony would commence. Sam stood with her fingers entwining and untwining awkwardly, a blush still touching her cheeks. She shifted on her feet as she stood in front of the dresser with the rings placed neatly on its top. L would take the tube of silver icing and neatly decorate letters onto the higher layer. He drew a nice L with the icing, and then made an S right near it as their lettering for the cake.

L then walked to Sam, stopping two paces before her. "Shall we?" he asked her, grabbing her hand and holding it gently. He felt the warmth of it, felt its soft texture in his own hands. Keeping her hand in his own left hand, he reached to the left to carefully grab the ring with the gold band and the blue diamond, just as Sam reached for the ring with the blue band and the yellow diamond. He pulled his left hand away from hers, then, his fingertips skimming her palm before each of them had their left hands held out to the other, their right holding the other's ring. And, at the same time, they slid the ring onto their lover's ring finger.

The smile tugging at L's lips prevailed at last and shown softly on his features. "'You may kiss the bride,'" he said, and did so, thus sealing the deal with his gentle, sweet, soft lips. Sam was red again. L was rather satisfied with this, and went to get a slice of cake, his well-known chibi smile on his face as he took it – Sam was following his lead – and made his way to the head of the bed and crawled onto the mattress to get into his signature position and eat his cake. Sam sat beside him on the other side of the bed, eating her own slice.

Mental conversations whispered in their heads, somehow drawing away the sense of silence even though there was no real sound. The final rays of sunlight began to fade as they mentally conversed and they ate their slice of cake… and another slice… and another. The sky would grow dark, but the golden city lights would shine bright through their hotel windows. Eventually the cake was left alone, and silent conversations would slowly turn to thoughts of their marriage. Joking thoughts of how now L would always have to let Sam come with him on cases, gentle teases of what Sam would say when her friends were to know of the event…. Words came slower, but were ultimately sweeter when put together. Sentences began to be laced with love, and physical contact crept into their low-light setting. Fingers intertwined, bodies grew closer, and eventually Sam's head was on L's shoulder.

There came a point where even the words stopped. Only half-formulated thoughts came into any sort of focus. It was this almost-silence where L would lightly turn her head so he could see her face illuminated by the golden city lights. Almost hesitantly, he lowered his lips to hers, allowing only a brush of the lips. But even after he left her, he seemed to linger. Sam gave a tiny squeak, and L faltered. He could feel a small amount of warmth in his own cheeks. It was Sam who acted, then, lifting her head and kissing him in his awkward hesitation.

After a moment of it, L accepted the gesture and allowed his mind to relax a little. Just a little. Accept the kiss and kiss back naturally; he could do that much. Relax a little more as he allowed the kiss to deepen. A little more. A little more…. Let it go like he did that night of the moonlight. Melt away just like the two of them had then. And of course it was only a natural thing as they edged closer to becoming truly one once more…. And… as the moment of final decision came this time… there was no hesitation. It simply was, and that was that.

Thus the night wore on, from love to silence to darkness as each half of the whole drifted into slumber, one in the other's arms.

* * *

_L was in a moonlit field, a sky filled with stars above him. The moon was full and shining brightly. He was sitting beside Sam, a present in his pocket. He pulled it out and gazed at the hand-made envelope tied neatly with string. He remembered Daddy and the stories he told of the night he proposed to Mommy. It was a setting like this, and this was the way he had proposed. He smiled at Sam and held it out. "I made you a gift," he spoke. His voice sounded off, as if it were echoing backwards. He sensed something off there, but Sam did not react, so he decided not to either. "Open it carefully," he said as she took it in her hand. The backwards echo sounded in his ears. "It's just… I'm asking you…." She opened the envelope, and looked up to him. "…Will you marry me?"_

_She stared at him, her face lighting up beneath the moonlight. A light gasp, followed by its backwards echo. "…Yes. _Yes!_" Her eyes glistened in the blue-ish moonlight, and she embraced him. L was smiling as he took her in and hugged her back closing his eyes._

"A hug isn't so bad now, is it, little genius?_" A low, cruel, gravelly voice, clear and without the odd echo. L stiffened, his eyes shooting open. He wasn't in the field anymore._

I shouldn't have closed my eyes; I shouldn't have—

_He stared at the wall of the inside of Uncle's house. Suddenly he could _smell _it; smell the scent of Uncle and his home; smell the sour scent of Uncle's breath as he spoke lowly in his ear. "I'm sorry," he spoke, "did I scare you?" L could just _feel _the man's smile twisting his mouth, even though L didn't dare look at him. And L wanted to move, get out of Uncle's embrace that made his skin _crawl_…. But he couldn't move. He couldn't move._

"_I scared you, didn't I?" asked Uncle. "Here, how can I make up for it?" He seemed to pull L closer, and his voice became lower; softer. "Let me make it all better…." L tensed. God no. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying with all his might to pull away. "I can make it alll betterrr…."_

_L finally found his voice, and shouted with all his strength. "_NO!_"_

_Uncle released him, then, and L fell backwards. He tried to catch his footing but found himself hitting a wall. His head seemed to spin. He heard a crash. Glass shattering. The scene had changed. His eyes opened. He could hear Auntie crying, yelling at Uncle to stop, begging him to as she grabbed at his arm. Uncle was yelling back. L noticed that the world was so much bigger, and he realized that he was only a boy again. Uncle had a glass bottle in his hand that could easily be a lethal weapon, and he was advancing even though Auntie was trying to stop him. And Uncle would raise his arm, bottle in hand. L recoiled, somehow forgetting how to fight back even though he knew he could, and the bottle came down—_

L jerked awake to find himself lying on his back, no sheet blanketing him. Completely exposed. Sam was nearby, curled up. She shifted, having had also woken up from the same nightmare. The detective looked at her, beginning to relax again. He allowed himself to smile slightly. Then, he gripped the blanket and pulled it upwards to better cover them and pulled Sam back into his arms. She gave a squeak and looked up at him. He shook his head slightly, and she laid her head down again. The two drifted back to sleep. Their dreams did not disturb them again.

* * *

**Well the dream kinda ruined it, but there you go.**

**Considering how uncomfortable I am rereading this, it makes me wonder how I wrote it. .-. Well I hope it's good anyway.**

**...There was also a reference to the song 'Blue and Yellow' by The Used in here.**

_**Fun Fact**_**: Sam was there when I wrote the bit with the cake. She really did give all that input, starting off vague, and then just piling on more and more details, all excited like. ...Yeah.  
She also described the rings.**

**Review? For marriage?**


	3. Chapter 3

_**B**_**: **I was hesitant about the whole marriage thing in here, but..eh, you know. I feel ya.  
Near and Anna...well, I can't quite remember, but I know they have fluff in here. I know. I don't remember where or how much, but...they will. As for Natalie and Light, well, we'll definitely get to them; I promise.

_**TheQueenOfFlames**_**: **I-I'm sorry for depriving you of sleep! ...Sleep's great. Real great. So's food... Yeahhh...  
I...well... I'm sorry about Matt, but he won't be a third wheel; I can tell you that. He may or may not get someone, but there will be a lot of sibling-like fluff between him and Sierra. Not only that, but this story's the one that reveals his past~

_**Amy**_**: **They are fantastic. *nod* Ah, it would be sweet if they had a kid, wouldn't it?~

**Oh goooodd I'm so sorry-I had a week off this week and lost track of time but-but here's the chapter! Two days late, but here it is!**

* * *

_Think._

Near sat before his array of finger puppets, fingering the puppet that represented Light Yagami. Before he could make any sort of plan, he would have to determine just what he was dealing with here.

_Shinigami can't drop their own notebooks, according to Anna… so… if Light were to have switched out the notebook the task force had, they should only have one notebook. However… Mikami is judging. Light Yagami and Natalie Hilts set up his escape in order to allow him to judge… but… Light is still judging, surely. The way Kira is, he would want to… unless Natalie is…. Either way, though, there is more than one notebook. Did Ryuk drop his Death Note anyway…? If he did, then that would allow the three known Kiras to have two notebooks… though I wonder, then, why they had to bring Misa into the picture even when Mikami was judging…. Could there be a third? But then, how?_

_And Mello has a notebook. How did he get it? _Near twirled his hair pensively. _That would put it to three or even four notebooks that are in this world…. _He frowned slightly, his eyes narrowing. _But where are they all coming from? And… if Mello has a notebook that came from Kira, how did he get it? When he kidnapped Natalie…? No…. That would prove Natalie guilty, and Mello would no doubt rub it in my face that he had caught Kira. Then… perhaps Sierra, but would Kira really take that risk, knowing she worked with Mello? Or is it another shinigami?_

Near fingered the Mello finger puppet, tilting his head slightly. His eyes were dark as he thought deeply. _I suppose I'll have to contact L to see his opinion on how many Kiras there are currently…. How many Kiras there are, determined by how many kills, would better determine how many current notebooks there are, not including Mello's Death Note…. _He sighed lightly. _The moment I know exactly how many notebooks there are to take care of, I can act to get rid of each and every Kira._ He placed his finger on the finger puppet representing Light Yagami. _I'll be sure to beat you here, Kira. At this point, your loss is inevitable._

* * *

Here it was. August thirteenth, the date that the message-writer had told us to come to that old café… the one where Light and L once conversed; the one where Light first discovered that L was actually alive; the café that was once a place where Light had gone a lot just to be alone, back before the 'original' Death Note had ever been dropped.

The unknown person had said to meet him here at four pm. Light and I entered the café at four o'clock sharp. We were greeted by a waitress, and Light told the woman amiably that they were meeting someone here. She accepted this with a smile and a nod, and the two of us stepped into the coffee shop, fully anticipating the event. The moment we turned that corner, we would see who we were dealing with.

Our plan was simple. If whoever it was did not seem trustworthy or usable, we would inform him – or her – that we weren't Kira and were actually on the Kira case. From there we would apprehend him. Or her. Whatever. I even carried my gun, just in case. I was allowed to, considering I was a certified cop now. Then, once he was apprehended, taken to jail, and his capture had gone public, we would make him die of a suicide… or an accident, depending upon who we were working with.

However… if whoever we found waiting for us at that table happened to be someone we could use… someone that could actually help us… we would cautiously admit to being Kira. We would work with him. Make him tell us how he knew, and we would use him to our advantage. That's not to say we would manipulate him in a way that was disadvantageous to him; he would play his part. We would work with him… if we knew he could be trusted. And if we admitted our work as Kira and he made any kind of suspicious move, then he would be killed.

From what we had made out of the notes he had left Light, he was incredibly intelligent. That could be either an asset or a threat, so we supposed we would see how this would go once we confronted our mystery man.

We reached the corner and turned with a casual air. Nothing was different, and nothing was wrong. We were only meeting a friend.

From here we could begin to see who was waiting for us. Black hair, dark attire…. We approached the table to better see a man in his twenties, his black hair cut relatively short and layered so it stuck up in some places. He was wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt and black baggy jeans. He was looking up at his with narrow eyes that were a sharp grey. A smile curved his lips as he stood.

"I knew you'd come," he spoke in a voice that was smooth, but not soft. His smile twisted into a wider expression. "Come and sit, Mr. Yagami. Miss Hester." He bowed to each of us in turn, and gestured to the booth opposite him.

We looked at the booth, then, eyeing him cautiously, slid in. The man sat down after us. He leaned his elbow on the table, his head tilted to the side and his hand to his cheek. He continued looking at us with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Ah, but you would like to know who I am, right?"

Light frowned. "Of course I'd like to know who has been leaving me notes at my doorstep," he returned, raising an eyebrow.

"Nice to meet the two of you at last," he smiled wider. "I am Beyond Birthday."

There was an immediate sense of confusion. B had died; he'd killed himself at the end of the Sinful Murder Cases, hadn't he? L had been upset over it and everything; we could tell just by looking at Sam. Was this guy serious? I mean, he looked the part. He had some resemblances to L in his haircut, his face, and his build, but…. Unfortunately, I couldn't confirm his claim by sight because of the fact I no longer had the Shinigami Eyes. And without that, there was no way of immediately telling if it was BB or not…. Although… there _was _the point that that, well, what was the point in pretending to be BB? What gain was there to be had there?

"I understand your confusion," he said without inflection, gazing at us with this odd lack of _something _in his eyes. "I am dead, aren't I? I committed suicide on the twenty-seventh of June, thus ending the Sinful Murder Cases. I burned myself alive. I died. But here I am. My explanation: I didn't kill myself. I didn't die… not in that instance." He tilted his head slightly without expression. "Now you just have to believe that part."

There was a short silence. "In the Los Angeles BB Murder Cases, BB tried to kill himself at the end in order to defeat L," said Light. "To create an unsolvable case. Isn't that what he was trying to do in the Sinful Murder Cases?"

"Yes, that was exactly my intent," the man claiming to be BB confirmed. "However, I wanted to ensure my success, and I wanted to live on." He looked directly at Light, his empty eyes boring into him. Light gazed back, impassive. Something seemed to flicker in the man's eyes as he spoke again. "I had a new task to complete. A new goal to live for."

"…Alright," I said, accepting the idea.

"Assuming you are Beyond Birthday, what is this new goal, then?" asked Light.

Beyond gave us a cruel smile, eyes calm and cool. "I want to be alive to see Near beaten or killed."

Both of us stared at him, our gazes unwavering. BB's smile faded. The lack of expression returned.

A waitress came to our table and gave each of us a cup of coffee. Light thanked her quietly, never removing his gaze from Beyond.

Once she was gone, Beyond leaned forward, his arms on the table. "I came here for a deal. I wrote this to you bluntly. This deal I will explain to you once all else is explained. Know that I am at the advantage here. I know all about you… including that both of you are Kira. At the very least, I know you have a notebook: neither of you have lifespans. And also…" – his mouth twisted into an imitation of a smile – "you didn't even know I was alive." The smile was wiped from his face again.

Light glared at him.

"You don't know where I hide; you don't know what I'm planning; you don't know my preparations for if you say no or deny the fact that you are Kira. To be honest, I didn't think you'd come right out and accept, and were probably planning on arresting your secret messenger the moment you discovered they were of no use to you. Perhaps you'd have even killed them off. However…."

He stopped there. His finger was tapping at the table. His eyes closed for a moment, and his finger stopped tapping. Another pause. We waited. "…However," he said, "I am not that foolish human you may have imagined. I am a human reaper in my own right; I am made to bring death upon others." He looked at us. "I want to join Kira and work with him. With you."

Both of us gave a start of surprise. "Beyond," Light returned immediately, "if that's really who you are, then that means that you're the one who killed Misa. Do you really think Kira would work with someone who killed _her_, one of their own in the original case?" He straightened. "And do you think that Kira would ever work with a serial killer? That's who he works to kill." His voice was firm as he spoke, a hint of anger coloring his words. He did not speak in a way that would prove we were Kira, though… not yet. He implied he had preparations for if we went against him. What if he was recording this very conversation?

"I am aware that I killed Misa Amane, but… can you really blame _me _for that? She was meant to die, and that was that. I killed her because no matter what happened, she would be dead." He looked at both of us meaningfully; that sharp nothing boring into us as we gazed back with our own intensity. "If you're looking for an apology, fine. I can apologize if I have to, but I'm not sorry for taking a life that was meant to be extinguished."

Light forced a tight laugh. "Do you really think that will change anything? You seem to forget, we're only human. She was our friend, and you killed her. Humans tend to hold grudges." He smiled, cocking an eyebrow as he lifted his coffee. "I hope you're not asking for forgiveness." And he took a sip.

"No. Just cooperation," Beyond answered shortly. "My point here is that I have something to offer both of you, as Kira. You can't kill me, and you know this." Light eyed him carefully, and I frowned. "You also can't kill Near… or L… or Mello. Not even Mello's accomplice, Mail. All of your enemies cannot die. Also, if ever someone stands against you once you reach the utopia you're undoubtedly trying to reach, it will get people thinking about the opposing side. You'll want some people; any rebels against Kira… you may want them dead if they're dangerous enough. But the notebook that kills cannot cover everyone, and your enemies would know the moment you make them disappear that it was you who caused it.

"What I am offering is to be your assassin." He paused, looking at us as if judging our reaction. "You have your prophet, that's true, but can three people alone be enough to secure the ruling of the world? I know that's what you're attempting. I offer only to be your assassin, your killer in the dark. The one that makes people disappear so you don't have to. I can be the killer of the enemies you cannot kill; I can be the silencer of the ones who know too much, or the ones who stand against you. I can be Kira's elite underground army." There he stopped. "That is my offer," he said.

"What's in it for you, though?" I came in.

"What would you get in return for all of this?" asked Light. "This is a deal, you said. Not an offering. To do all that, you're going to want a price. What is it?"

Beyond's mouth twitched at the corner, and he chuckled; a low and dark thing._ Henh, henh, henh…_. That twisted version of a smile reappeared on his features. "That's just it," he said, leaning back as he looked at us. There seemed to be something in his eyes now. "All I want is Near's defeat or death. I want him put down, whether it be to regret and the pressing knowledge of failure… or death. You want his defeat too. We want the same thing. It's a win-win situation, here…. Isn't it great?" He laughed airily; it wasn't quite that dark chuckle of his, but it didn't sound quite_ fake_, either.

It would be a lie to say we weren't considering it by this point. This was a large deal, and it had its benefits…. Imagine; we would be able to get rid of Mello and Near once we were ready… even L if we really had to…. We didn't want to kill people like those who were in the SPK… or the Task Force, either. But this… this was a major opportunity. If B was speaking the truth, and that really was his goal… then there was no reason for him to betray us unless Near had been at last defeated. And that wouldn't happen for a little while yet. BB was right… it _was _great. He would watch Near fall, and we, as Kira, would rise. What would happen after we beat Near was questionable, but… that could be dealt with once that time came. So then…. Would we accept his offer? It was beneficial; there were no major drawbacks….

"Now…," said BB. His face was expressionless once more; his eyes were again filled with nothing. "…What is your answer? Will you accept my deal, or deny me?" He held out his hand. "What'll it be, Kira?"

I merely leaned back in my seat. This would be Light's movement, not my own. I took a sip of my coffee as Light gazed at B's hand. B gazed expectantly at him.

Light took his hand and shook it.

The deal was made.

Beyond flashed a smile. "It's a deal," said Light. "No working behind our backs. We'll be keeping an eye on you."

"Of course; of course," Beyond responded.

"Know we're in charge, not you," Light added, and B nodded.

"Of course. I thought that was a given." He tilted his head, and his neck cracked. "Shall we meet here again next week? Same day of the week, same time of day?"

Light gave a short nod of confirmation, and both of us stood. "Agreed," we said together. "We'll see you then," said Light, and we left. Beyond watched us go, his eyes not leaving us even as he grabbed a packet of sugar for his coffee.

Friday the thirteenth, it was; a day of bad luck. And for L, Near, and Mello, it would be. August thirteenth… the day Beyond Birthday made an alliance with Kira.

* * *

It was long after his meeting with Kira that B at last reached his current residence: an underground hideout that was once a bomb shelter for those who worked at the old warehouse that was taken down and leveled years ago. Now it only seemed like a bare field, barred from civilians by an old wire fence that had too many holes to keep people out anymore anyhow. It wasn't like anyone would actually come out here anyway. There wasn't anything interesting… except maybe the bomb shelter that Beyond currently called his home.

But underground wasn't where he was headed quite yet. Instead he headed to the relatively large stone that was placed nearby the hideout's entrance. A gentle August breeze passed; the grass rolled smoothly. B gazed down at the dirty stone without expression, then knelt down and brushed at it to get rid of some of the dirt. "It's alright, Sophia…," he murmured. "I made the deal with Kira; I've joined their side…. I know we weren't before, and we still don't like them… sorry… _I_ still don't like them…. Not we anymore, right? But… I'm going to get Near for you, okay? Once I feel like you're avenged…" he found his mouth forming some sort of smile, "…then I can join you." He could feel the Fog settling as he spoke.

He stood, then, and only gazed at the blank stone for awhile longer before leaving Sophia's grave and heading down below to his hideout. He would not do much; only be idle in his work as time waited for the Fog to lift.

* * *

It was funny. Now that I thought about it, wouldn't it have been me that would get overly excited to meet Beyond Birthday? Me who would have begun spouting things hyperactively to confuse him? 'Oh, hi BB! How's your obsession with fire going? You have any strawberry jam you can share?'

But now… now it was a hard silence I gave him upon his introduction. Funny. Funny, funny, funny how a character can change so… and it had only been a few months. So funny.

These were my thoughts as I gazed up at the ceiling of my home. Anna was talking to me, but I, of course, had zoned out. _Well, that's a trait that hasn't changed_, I thought drily, and tuned back in to my niece's words.

"…So I'm hoping that Mello's caught, since there was a sighting and all, you know? I just want him caught so I can see Sierra again. I miss her. Mello's a meanie poop for kidnapping her. Again." She paused. "Aunt Natalie, do _you _think things'll ever be back to normal?"

I blinked and looked at her more directly. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sick of the Kira case, and I'm sick of everyone being so far apart. Sam's with L, Sierra's with Mello, and you and I are the only ones that ever really see each other anymore…. I'm sick of people suspecting you because I know you wouldn't kill people, I don't think, and I'm sick of everyone being against one another. We were all friends, weren't we? We were, weren't we?" She looked at me.

"Of course, Anna… and we still are," I told her.

"Then tell me honestly, Aunt Natalie…. Do you think things will ever be back to normal? Where all of us will be together again and we can all act like friends like we used to? And we can eat potato chips together and hang out together and just _talk _together…. And…." She looked down and stopped there.

I gazed at her with vague sympathy. "Well, Anna…," I said slowly, choosing my words carefully. "…There are some things that have changed that we can't switch back. Things like the Bond, for example."

"The four people who are mind synced to us could become a part of the group, then, right?" asked Anna hopefully. "Light and L and Mello and Near can join in, if that's how it has to be… but we'll be together and there won't be hate or hidden things I can't get…."

I held up my hand to stop her. "Allow me to finish, Anna…. There have also been things that have happened that have changed who we are, too. Time has passed, and a lot has happened. That's not to say we can't come together as friends and family again… but it won't be exactly the same. We can't make the clock reverse…. Do you know what I mean?"

She frowned and looked down. "Yeah…."

I smiled. "Don't look down about it. Sometimes change is good. Maybe your sister will find real happiness, or maybe Sam will smile a little more, or maybe you'll have some more privileges, eh?" _Or maybe your aunt will be in jail. It all depends._

She smiled, though it seemed not quite happy. "Yeah. Okay, Aunt Natalie…."

I smiled again, then tilted my head back to look back at my ceiling. _I miss that crack in the ceiling I befriended back in the basement of Mello's hideout, _I thought, then rethought this. _…Come to think of it, I don't miss it that much, _I decided, and chuckled to myself.

* * *

_**Fun Fact**_**: I started _It Is Done_ back in August 2011. Good times.**

**Review? For alliances...?**


	4. Chapter 4

_**B**_**: **Oh goodness; yes. Right. It's the climactic moment, when good vs. evil faces off for the final time before the winner is decided, and...  
...They go home. The end.  
Yep.  
Gosh, don't you worry, I sing about characters in joy all the time if I'm in a good enough mood.

_**Catherine**_**:** Oh dear... I will hope with you that Anna isn't tainted or killed... Uwahh, that would be terrible; not dear Anna...  
Ah, and I suppose we'll see how the Kira-BB Alliance goes, eh?

**Ah, well, here's the next chapter!**

**Although...I'm going to start updating every other week now...**

**I...never thought I'd have to space out updates in any way. Ugh. So, my sincere apologies, but now this'll be coming out every other week instead.**

**The good news is that it'll end slower.**

**Well...enjoy?**

* * *

"Well, L, what are your results?" asked Near from the speaker.

L responded promptly. "Kira returned March tenth. You know this. The amount of deaths by heart attack increased gradually until the eighteenth, where there was a sudden increase in kills. It is slight, but noticeable. From here the gradual increase continues, especially by the nineteenth. There are less kills on the thirty-first, going into the first of April, but then the quantity shifts back to normal. The kills go down again on the fifth—"

"That was the day Light and Misa were detained," Near put in, and L nodded despite the fact Near couldn't see him.

"It makes sense; it fits. However, the killings go up drastically after the seventh. The sixth was the day that Mikami got broken out of jail; there is probably a connection there. There is a slight increase on the eleventh; likely Misa, then, correct?"

"Yes. We released Light and Misa on the tenth of April."

L nodded again. "However, there is also a suspicious increase on the twentieth."

"Perhaps it is Light joining in? We have two major increases thus far; both are most likely Misa and Mikami joining in the killing with Natalie, who I believe is the first."

"That is possible; however, there is another increase on the twenty-first."

"That would mean… there are five Kiras." Near paused. "Who would the fifth Kira be, then? Sierra, perhaps?"

"Maybe, but the kills went down again on June sixteenth. Then on the twenty-third Natalie was kidnapped…. If it was Sierra, that could have been when Mello discovered she had the Note. It would make sense."

"But then, if Sierra were acting as Kira, Mello would inevitably take that as a win and try to rub it in my face."

"You must remember the two are Bonded, Near. You may not get it yet, because you aren't as far… but just that would be enough to get him not to. And considering Sierra agrees with Mello's views on many levels, she likely wouldn't attempt to stand against him. It is also possible that their relationship came to play here as well."

"…Understood," Near responded.

"That is the gist of the heart attack rates, by the way, though there is a slight decrease on June seventh, the day before Misa was killed… and there is a bit of a decrease from June twenty-third to July first."

"Natalie was kidnapped July twenty-third… and Light was taken in by myself and the SPK. They were both home again by the first of July…."

L nodded yet again. "It all fits."

"Now to prove it, huh, L? Are you up for the challenge?" Sam, who lay on the bed behind L, frowned at the smile she sensed was on Near's face at that moment.

"Of course I am, Near. The Sinful Murder Cases are behind me, and I can assure that I will be catching Kira this time around."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck, L."

"You as well, Near."

There was a pause. L was about to disconnect before Near spoke again. "There are presumably three Kiras, then, now, correct?"

"Yes, that is correct," L confirmed.

"How many notebooks do you think there are?"

"For now I'll say two," L answered. "I'll say two and presume that three of the total five Kiras had to use only the pages."

"Yes, I thought the same…. Because of Ryuk's Note, along with the Note that Light most likely switched out, yes?"

"Yes."

"Presuming there are two Notes, then… I will be working to catch Light and Natalie, the two main Kiras, as I have been. It is only fair that, as you have been off doing other cases, you work to find a plan to find and arrest Mikami. We need to catch every Kira, and it would work better if we split the deal, yes?"

L frowned. Near simply didn't want to work with L. That was it, wasn't it? Well, fine, Near…. "I don't agree, but alright. I can work to catch Mikami."

"Good. It's a deal. We can keep each other posted on our progress."

"Of course," said L. "Goodbye." And he disconnected. There was a pause.

"…I hate Near," said Sam, and L tilted his head back to look at her.

"What scares me is the fact he has some traits similar to me," L responded, and he smiled slightly at Sam's shudder.

* * *

"I love hijacking cars," Matt remarked, his head beneath the dashboard of a car on the edge of a car dealership parking lot. Sierra was sitting in shotgun, watching him. Mello was outside the car, leaning on its red metal surface. It was the dead of night.

"Just be happy we were lucky enough to find a red one, like you wanted," Mello muttered.

Sierra was bouncing up and down as she eyed Matt. The car revved, but did not start. "Damn," Matt uttered. "Almost." There was a pause as he worked… and the car started. "Got it!" He pulled his head out and shooed Sierra out of shotgun and into the back. She muttered something under her breath as she obeyed, and Mello got into the driver's seat as Matt moved to shotgun.

"The first thing you're working on tomorrow," said Mello to Matt as he backed out of the parking space, "is making sure we can start this thing immediately."

"Oh, yeah," Matt answered as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "I've got a lot of plans for this thing."

Mello frowned. "What sort of plans are you making, anyway?" asked Sierra.

"Well," said Matt, "I'm gonna make this thing faster, able to turn on at the push of a button, and one other thing I'll show you sometime 'cause I don't feel like explaining." With that, he pulled out his lighter.

"No smoking in the car," Mello said flatly.

Matt looked at him. "What? Oh, come on…."

Mello smirked slightly, and sped off down the city streets without response.

* * *

"You know," Sam remarked as she took a grape in her hand, "I used to hate Sundays." And she popped the fruit in her mouth.

"Why?" asked Anna absently, looking at the grape in her own hand.

"It meant the weekend was almost over; that the next day I would have to go back to the hell called school," Sam responded, frowning slightly. "I hated school."

"But school isn't hell," said Anna confusedly.

Sam shook her head. "It wasn't so much the school and education I hated… it was the people." She scowled. "I hated those people."

"Oh…. Yeah, okay," said Anna.

I came down the stairs carrying all of the dirty laundry Anna had forgotten to bring down. "Anna, you've gotta start remembering to take the laundry down."

"Sorry," Anna responded.

As I walked to the laundry room, I added over my shoulder, "Light's on his way, by the way."

"Lovely," said L dully, fingering one of the eight strawberries left on his plate. Everyone else was eating from the bowl of grapes on the kitchen table. He lifted one of his strawberries with his thumb and forefinger and pushed into his mouth. Chewed. Swallowed.

"Aunt Natalie?" Anna asked, still rolling her grape in her palm.

I reemerged from the laundry room to move to join the three in the kitchen. "Yes, Anna?"

"When will Light be my uncle?"

I stopped in my tracks. Why, Anna. Why.

Somewhere else, Light was chuckling.

Sam choked on her grape, and L seemed to pale more than he already was, if that was possible. Then the detective pushed away his plate of strawberries. I quirked an eyebrow at him for the action.

After a moment of silence, Anna looked up from her grape. "…What?" she asked confusedly. "I was serious!"

"…Someday. Sometime. I don't know," I said before I finished my task of joining them in the kitchen. I eyed L's plate as I sat down. "You gonna eat that, L?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Not hungry," he responded in a tight voice.

I blinked. Something was off there. Sam wasn't even making her remarks. _Hm._ "Would you like me to put it in the fridge for later?"

"That would be nice. Thank you," he responded.

I picked up his plate so I could do so, rounding the table to the fridge. "Something wrong, L?"

"No," he answered flatly, and I shrugged as I put plastic wrap over the strawberries and then proceeded to put them in the fridge.

"If you say so," I responded.

There was silence for awhile. Anna finally ate the grape she'd been rolling around in her hands. "L, you annoy me," she said bluntly, and L looked at her, at first not responding.

"…I'm sorry, Anna," he said, his voice still ever monotonous.

"Nah. You just don't tell us some things and it irritates me."

"As can only be expected from the mysterious L," Sam pointed out.

"That irritates me too," said Anna. "You just irritate me, L. Even though you're awesome. Why won't you tell us that stuff we used to always ask you? What's your past? It's like we've given up, you're just so stubborn."

"My apologies," L responded without inflection.

"He feels no obligation to tell you," Sam added in the same flat tone.

"Then tell me a story," Anna frowned. "Like the one about you dropping the bird's egg when you were little, or something about that festival you went to as a kid, or your family or something. I like your stories."

L gazed at her dully.

I gazed back at him in interest, even though he wasn't looking at me. Ooh, a story belonging to L's past? Do tell, L; do tell.

"He doesn't want…," Sam began, then frowned. She looked at him.

"My father used to make me cakes and pastries;" he said, "…for any sweet thing he could find the recipe for."

Anna blinked twice. She hadn't actually been expecting anything.

"He'd attempt at something every day, at one point; however, he wasn't the good cook. My mother was." He tilted his head. "There was a day in October in which he tried to make a cake for the both of us. He would always bring me into the kitchen to help him, you see, so he could allow me to help him in his baking attempts. There was a part of the recipe that required the blending of some of the ingredients. He turned on the blender too high and the cake batter went flying all over the kitchen." L only gazed at Anna, his face void of emotion. I couldn't decipher what he was thinking. "Not only was it all over the walls and floor, but on the both of us as well. Any human would be a bit irritated with a ruined shirt and an entire kitchen to clean." L tilted his head again, a smile ever so slightly curving the detective's lips. "He only laughed."

The ghost of a smile disappeared from his features and he was blank once more. Anna and I waited for him to continue, but that seemed to be the end of his story. Anna blinked. "Is that why you love sweets so much? Because your dad used to always make sweet stuff for you?"

L shifted. "Not necessarily," he responded.

"…Okay, so," said Anna contemplatively, "you won't tell your past."

"No."

"Just stories."

"Little things," L confirmed.

"Will you tell another story?" Anna asked him.

"Not right now; no."

"Could I ask questions that you'd answer?"

"I would answer selectively."

"…So, you wouldn't answer every question?"

"No."

Anna frowned. "What was your dad like?"

"Kind. Care-free. An all-around good man," L answered flatly.

"What was your mom like?"

"Strong. Loving. Amiable. A woman who lived on the edge," L responded, in the same flat tone.

"How did they…?" Anna frowned. "No… you wouldn't answer that."

"That's correct."

Anna thought harder. "Why don't you like to talk about your past?"

"As many hidden pasts, it holds good things that one has lost," L answered, vague but somehow specific. "As it also holds pain. That is all."

Anna furrowed her brow. "What… did your dad look like?"

"He looked much like me," L answered, "as can be expected, considering he's my father."

Anna blinked. "Was he creepy and weird too?"

L gazed blankly at her. "No," he said dully.

"…Oh. Where do you get those weird habits, then?"

L was silent.

"He's not willing to answer that," Sam said, sounding irritated. "And he doesn't like being interrogated, so you know."

"Fine," Anna huffed, then held up her index finger. "One more question." Her eyes grew more sympathetic. "Did every single member of your family really die?"

L's gaze grew suddenly cold. "No," he said. "There's one left."

Anna blinked, then leaned forward in what seemed to be excitement. "Who? Are you in contact? Couldn't you have lived with whoever it is? Why don't we know about this person? How come—?"

She was cut off by a knocking on the door, at which I stood to go and let Light in. "You said one more question," Sam said simply to Anna, while I opened the door. "That was all. No more."

Anna only pouted in response.

"How unfortunate that I missed L revealing bits and pieces of his past," Light remarked, his tone light as he was led to the kitchen with everyone else. "What a rare anomaly."

"Shut up, Light," Sam responded simply, and ate another grape.

* * *

_**Fun Fact**_**: When first reading over this, I didn't get why L was all stiff and uncomfortable at Anna's remark. Then I felt a little bit silly. Just... "Oh."  
Wow.**

**Just saying again I'm updating every other week now, until further notice... Unfortunately...  
**

**...Sorry.**

**Well, uh... Review? For grapes?**


	5. Chapter 5

_**B**_**: **Yeahh, Light was just being annoying as all. "If it's not a bother"? Pshaw, I'm just pleased you've reviewed, dear~~

**Gee, now I'm actually glad I didn't update last week. So much going on. ^ **

**In any case, I hope you enjoy this week's chapter~**

* * *

_Click._

L activated the microphone, thus sealing the connection with the NPA chief. An image of Aizawa's office appeared on the screen, with Aizawa looking into the camera. "What is it, L?" was the chief's greeting.

L paused, tapping a few more buttons. On the other end of the line, the calligraphic L would disappear, instead pulling up a blank box.

"…L?" Aizawa frowned.

L began to type with ease.

_Chief Aizawa, I would like to meet you again. Bring the rest of the original task force for a meeting, but do not bring Light or Natalie. Do not tell either of them of this meeting._

_I am at the Teito Hotel, in room 721. Keep this a secret among the task force._

_Do not tell Near, either, please._

_Go to the hotel room two at a time between the four of you… that is, if Ide is willing to join me. If not, then a group of two and one alone; fifteen minutes apart. The first group should leave at 7:45._

_I hope to see you soon._

With that, L tapped a key to disconnect.

"Do you think they'll be disturbed when they find me here?" Sam asked the ceiling absently as she waited for the water for the tea to boil. "Nah… not disturbed…. Surprised, maybe…."

L smiled ever so slightly as he stood to prepare. He had cake to slice, considering Roger still hadn't taken to taking care of L's every need food-wise. L would have to work on that…. He knew, though, that he and Roger would never, ever be as close as he and Watari were. When L had first met Watari, he had taken to almost trusting the man by the first day. With Roger, he never really liked him, just as Roger never really liked him in turn, either. He didn't have good manners, Roger believed (even though it was true), and the geezer often thought L was a bit too childish. And as we all know, Roger doesn't like children. He liked insects better. Because that makes sense.

L set his plate of cake on the coffee table in the space in front of the chair where he would be sitting. He then headed to the kitchen area where Sam handed him a fork to eat his cake, just as the water in the teapot came to a boil and the pot began to whistle. L removed the teapot while Sam turned off the burner. Ah, tea.

Yay.

L was plopping the sugar cubes in by the time the first group came: Aizawa and Matsuda. There was a knocking, L called for them to come in as he and Sam got to their feet to greet them, and the door was opened.

"Oh, hey," Matsuda blinked at them while Aizawa closed the door. "Hi, Sam. I didn't know you'd be here." He laughed weakly.

"Yeah, well," Sam shrugged.

"Please get comfortable," said L to their two guests. "We have one to two other guests to wait for. Would you like some tea while you wait?"

Matsuda blinked. "Uh, no thanks…," Aizawa responded.

"Sure," said Matsuda, and L nodded.

He turned and walked to the coffee table where everything was set up. Sam grabbed a teacup from the kitchen for Matsuda, then sat down with the others around the coffee table.

"Wow, Ryuzaki," said Matsuda as he poured himself some tea. "Normally you never offer tea to us…. You just sorta drink it."

L brought his cup to his lips with both hands on the teacup, his eyes dull. "Perhaps I'm feeling generous," he said flatly. He took a sip of his tea.

"What is it that you called us for, exactly?" Aizawa asked, all business.

"That can be discussed the moment Mogi and possibly Ide arrive," L responded, setting his cup back down.

Matsuda blinked twice, eyeing L's hand. He gasped. "_Oh my god_, Ryuzaki, is that a _wedding ring_?!" he exclaimed.

Sam hung her head. Figures Matsuda would be the first to notice.

"Yes, Matsuda, it is a wedding ring," L confirmed.

"When was the wedding, Ryuzaki?" Matsuda asked excitedly. "Why wasn't I invited?"

"We told no one about it," L explained bluntly.

"So you _eloped_?" he inquired, raising his eyebrows. "How exciting!"

"Good lord, Matsuda…," Aizawa uttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Is Sam the lucky girl?" Matsuda asked teasingly, grinning at Sam.

"Yes, that is correct," L responded, picking up more sugar cubes to put into his tea.

"Can I see the rings?" he asked them hopefully, and Sam wordlessly held out her hand, her head still hanging low in hopes of hiding the blush. He looked at hers, with the golden band and blue diamond, and his face lit up. "How _pretty_!" he cried in delight, then looked over to L's, despite the fact he would not shift his position in order to show Matsuda his own ring. "Oh, they're _opposites_? Does each color represent one of you?"

"He's blue," Sam mumbled. "I'm gold."

"Oh!" he cried. "How _sweet_; I can't even take it!" he exclaimed delightedly.

"Matsuda…," Aizawa muttered.

"Is this the news you called us here about?" Matsuda asked the detective.

L gave him what could be constituted as a 'what the hell' face. "Uh, no."

Matsuda blinked a few times. "Oh. But still; that's amazing! I'm so happy for you, Ryuzaki! You too, Sam! Ooh, how exciting! Are you going on a honeymoon, or did you already have one?"

"We are currently busy with the Kira case, Matsuda," L reminded him flatly. "Perhaps we'll go to Italy once this Kira business is over."

"Oh, Italy? What a nice place," he sighed happily. "So when's the baby due?" he teased.

Sam facepalmed. "Oh my god, Matsuda."

"Matsuda!" Aizawa snapped.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," L said simply, and took another sip of his tea. He wouldn't say another word about it.

Matsuda kept rambling to them about their relationship; things like how he needed to be told when there _was _a baby coming, how L should most definitely never forget their anniversary; those sorts of things. His final words were, "I wonder when Light will get hitched," before there was another knock and L called out for the next guest or guests to come in. Sam giggled a little at Matsuda's last remark as the door was opened. Both Mogi and Ide walked in.

Matsuda eyed L's cake. "…I don't suppose you'll share your cake, too, will you?"

"No."

Matsuda's mouth twitched. "Right…."

"Alright, fine," said Ide as he and Mogi came over to sit down. "I came, even though I don't like L." He eyed L. "Are you L, then?"

"Yes, that is correct," L responded. "But… I suppose you should call me Ryuzaki here. No, please call me Ryuzaki here."

Ide made a sound of confirmation, nodding as he did so.

"Alright, now, what are we here for?" Aizawa asked him. "You're well aware that I'm chief of the NPA now, and can't take much time off."

"Yes, I know," L said. "I called all of you here because I'd like to, if you're willing, to recreate the Japanese Kira Investigation Team."

"But… why aren't Light and Natalie here?" asked Matsuda bemusedly.

"Because, quite simply, I believe both are acting as Kira. If I may, I will lay out what I think about this case thus far."

"Go right ahead," said Aizawa. "I know for a fact all of us have been wanting to know what's been going on."

L nodded slightly. "Kira was vanquished at the Yellow Box Warehouse on January twenty-eighth. Light Yagami, the original Kira, supposedly lost his memories for good. However, Kira acted up again on March tenth, about one month later. As it was determined April fifth, Misa was acting as one of the new Kiras, yes?"

Matsuda and Mogi nodded while Aizawa and Ide made sounds of confirmation.

"This determines that it was not a new notebook that was dropped; rather, it was one of the notebooks that were already a part of the Kira case. There were three notebooks in all involved in the Kira case. One was given back to its shinigami, Sidoh. One was stolen from Mikami by Near and burned. One was kept locked in task force headquarters, and supposedly burned by Near. It was this last one that was likely switched out for a fake by Light, before the meeting at the warehouse. He was Bonded to Natalie; it was possible he was prepared beforehand, already knowing what was to happen through her…."

"But how do we know it's not a new notebook dropped to the same people?" asked Ide. "Those death gods know that Light's going to do a lot of damage considering what he did last time; maybe it's like a game to them and they just want to play around with our world and society. Plus, we locked that thing up tight and were really careful about it."

"Yeah; yeah!" Matsuda came in.

"That would be a possibility," said L, "if it weren't for the conditions needed to be able to drop a notebook to the human world. A shinigami must have a second notebook. And in the Shinigami Realm, a second notebook is hard to come by, especially considering a shinigami is permitted only one notebook by the Shinigami King."

"And how do you know this?" Ide frowned.

"He's got that otherworldly thing going on now," said Matsuda. "He's got that connection thing with Sam, you know."

"Mm…," Ide responded.

"In any case," said L, getting back to his explanation, "as Light is the only one who would act to steal the Note, we know he is involved again."

"…But—" said Matsuda, but L cut him off.

"Misa's involvement proves it. However, Light knew he would be watched, so he had to have someone else judge for him in that first month or so. Takada is deceased, Mikami was detained, and Misa simply couldn't be trusted with that sort of task because she lacked the intelligence for it. The only person with the connection, trust, and intelligence for this job, then, would be…."

"…Natalie," said Aizawa.

"Correct." L stabbed his cake with his fork and took a bite. Sam handed him some papers, and he placed them on the table in front of everyone. "These are the rates of deaths by heart attack from March tenth to now." He pointed to an increase with his fork. "There is where Misa came in," he said. "Mikami escaped jail on April sixth. There was a prison breakout caused by a prisoner named Daichi Kichida. He broke everyone out claiming that he and everyone else would escape, stand against Kira, and live." Sam placed the newspaper article for the jailbreak on the table as he spoke. "Every prisoner supposedly died of a heart attack after running away. Kira may have a motive, but I doubt Kira would kill Mikami, as Mikami had been working for Kira… even though Mikami did betray Kira at the warehouse. Both mine and Near's thoughts deduce that this outbreak was caused by Kira in order to set Mikami free and allow him to judge as well. And, look." He pointed to the increase in deaths on the seventh of April. "One day after the breakout, there is a major increase in kills."

"So Mikami's definitely involved here," Aizawa muttered.

"Yes," L agreed. "It can be said" – he pointed with his silverware to the increase on April twentieth – "that Light started killing again here. This would mean that Light, Natalie, Misa, and Mikami were all killing at that point."

"Then…" said Mogi slowly, eyeing the chart carefully, "…what's that next increase?"

L smiled slightly. "That's just it. It can't be told for sure. However… Mello is in possession of a notebook right now. Therefore—"

"Mello has a Death Note?!" Matsuda cried.

"Please let me finish," said L calmly. He continued, "Therefore, it is possible Kira tried to bring Sierra to his side. However, we'll assume Mello found her notebook – or Sierra gave it to him – and Sierra is now in support of him rather than Kira. With all of this, that means there are currently three Kiras, with Misa deceased and Sierra's notebook now controlled by Mello."

"Wait," said Aizawa, furrowing his brow.

"Yes, Aizawa?" L answered.

"That means, then, that there's gotta be more than one notebook in play here. You said that Light only stole the one that was being kept at the Japanese Kira Investigation Headquarters. How is there more than one notebook, then?"

"Near believes that Ryuk willingly gave up his Note, thus bringing it up to two notebooks. Or rather…" – L smiled again – "…in a way, I led him to believe this. But it's highly likely there are more."

"More?" Matsuda asked weakly. "How?"

"I know more about this world and the Shinigami Realm because of reading the manga from the other world that Samantha comes from, as well as from Samantha's own memories. In Samantha's memories I have taken note of what happens in the epilogue of our story… in which the Shinigami King had taken a liking to apples so strong that a shinigami could trade apples for a notebook. All Kira would have to do is get Ryuk to go to the Shinigami Realm with a supply of apples in order to gain more notebooks. Considering the Kiras are relatively spread out, this would be useful. Instead of two notebooks, I think that there could very possibly be three, four, or even five death notebooks active in this world."

Everyone stared at L. "A…are you serious?" asked Matsuda. "I mean… last time there was just two to worry about…."

"Yes, and it took years for us just to catch that Kira," said Ide, frowning.

"How sure are you about that?" asked Aizawa.

"Over seventy percent," L answered bluntly. "With Mikami a fugitive, it would be hard for the main Kira to reach him. With that, he wouldn't be able to have only pages; he would run out relatively quickly. It's the same with Sierra, if it were, in fact, her acting as Kira. Then, of course, there are the two main Kiras. Therefore, there are at least three notebooks in this world."

"…Oh boy…," said Matsuda weakly.

"Now, Near has assumed the position of taking care of the main Kiras because he simply does not wish to work with me, and after all I have been on other cases lately. But Near nearly failed last time, and besides, who better to defeat Kira than L?" He smiled; a sweet sort of smile this time. "And I, for one, would like to win this time." The smile disappeared. "Near told me I should spend my time working to find Mikami. And I will do that. However, I will also work to catch Kira. For that, I would like all of your help, if you're willing. That is what I have called you here for."

"I'm all for it!" Matsuda agreed immediately.

"I will help," said Mogi.

Ide and Aizawa were frowning.

"No tricks this time, Aizawa," said L, then took a bite of his cake. He swallowed before speaking again. "I will make sure neither of you lose your job, unless it comes to the point where the NPA is purely in favor of Kira again. Until that point, I will ensure that this case is a special case for the task force; one that is important enough to involve the NPA chief. Other police members will think it's a normal case, not the Kira case."

"…Fine, I'm in," said Aizawa, closing his eyes. "Just don't die on us again, Ryuzaki."

"I can assure you that will not happen. Or at least, I should hope not… if I were to die, you see, Samantha would die too."

Matsuda stared at the both of them. "…Oh…." He blinked, then looked to Ide. Mogi and Aizawa were already looking at him.

Ide frowned deeper. "Stop staring at me, all of you." Matsuda looked away hastily. "I'm already here; I've met L – or I guess I should say Ryuzaki – so I guess it's a given that I should join."

"You don't have to join if you don't want to," said L. "I trust you not to give away any information that I have given."

Ide stared at L with his naturally narrow eyes. L was not looking back; he was reaching for his teacup to take another sip. "…I'll join. Not to help you, L, but to catch Kira. I'm a part of all this too, and I want to keep it that way."

"I appreciate all of your help. You may be dismissed; at different times to be safe. For today, I will fabricate the case that the task force will be working on, a confidential case not to be told to anyone, especially Light or Natalie… and Near. Near can't know about this. We are working in secret. Tomorrow we will begin working." He smiled. "And I swear we'll win for good this time."

* * *

**Such wondrous hope in this chapter.**

_**Fun Fact**_**: I had Sam pegged; perfect depiction in this chapter. She would literally do the actions in this chapter just before I read them to her, in reaction to what happened right before it.  
It's a beautiful thing.**

**Review? For the Task Force!**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Coryssa**_**: **Wow, really? Gosh, you flatter me! Ah... the real people look so different now from what it's supposed to be in the story; hmmm. I know their descriptions are at the beginning of each story, but let's try this: Natalie has blue-grey-green (she doesn't even know their color) eyes, and very short, darkish brown hair almost styled like Light's. Sam is the tallest, and has long, dark brown, curly hair that she parts to the side and sometimes straightens. Her eyes are gold-green. Anna as medium to long, light brown hair parted down the middle that almost looks blond; it is slightly wavy. Sierra (who is actually taller than her aunt by a little) has shortish, mouse brown, curly hair and blue eyes.  
Er, sorry if I got too detailed? Actually, it'd be fun just seeing your depiction, too. But there's that. Yosh, I look forward to seeing it-thank you so much! I'm so glad you like this series~  
(I am quite happy myself the Task Force is back together. It just seems _right_.)

* * *

Light tapped his pen on the table absently, Anna glancing at him every so often as she stirred the chocolate syrup into her milk with a spoon. The metal made a small sort of clinking sound as she stirred. Light's pen made only a light tap, tap, tapping. Light's eyes stared vacantly out the kitchen window, his tie loosened casually in the August heat. I was currently upstairs vacuuming, because, you know, I liked things clean. It just irritated me to clean it. Oh well. Better now than later. If I did it later, I'd have no motivation and it would end up never happening. So… there we are.

Light halted in tapping his pen, then slowly set it on the kitchen table. Anna eyed his hand as she stuck the spoon in her mouth to taste the chocolate milk. "What're you writing, anyway?" she asked around the metal obstruction. She took the spoon out of her mouth. "You're not gonna kill people with that, are you?" she asked him scoldingly, waving her spoon accusingly at him.

He frowned slightly, his eyebrows coming together, but he did not look at her. "No, Anna," he answered, sounding only slightly irritated. "I'm not killing anyone."

She giggled. "Okay. So what is that, then, Light-o?"

"I was originally writing a note to my mother and Sayu…," he answered distractedly. "I just can't think of what to say, really. Maybe I'll just go to see them…." His hand fingered the pen again, and soon it had returned to his palm. He began to twirl it in his fingers.

Anna stared, sipping at her chocolate milk. "…How do you do that?" she asked incredulously.

"Hmm?"

"That thing with the pen…. How do you do that?"

"Hm?" Light responded, looking down at his hand. Then he looked back to beyond the window, smiling ever so slightly. "Skill."

"…Meh," Anna huffed, then took a few large gulps of her milk, downing it all and leaving only a drop. She set the cup on the table with a refreshed sigh. She eyed Light, whose smile had faded again to leave a vacant, thoughtful sort of look. The pen had been placed on the table again, and now his hand was to his cheek, holding up his head. She blinked at him. "Light?"

"Yes, Anna?" he asked without looking at her.

"What're you thinking about?"

Light seemed to come to, then, blinking twice and actually looking at her. He looked back to the window, though his eyes seemed more in-focus. "What if I did get to be your uncle, Anna?" he asked her.

There was a thump upstairs, and Light smiled ever so slightly.

Anna looked up to the ceiling bemusedly before she looked back to Light. She blinked. "Did you really just ask that?"

"Well, that depends. What do you think I asked?"

"What if you were my uncle," she answered.

"Then yes, I did," he responded.

Anna blinked twice, then grinned. "That would be _great! _Ooh, ooh, are you and Aunt Natalie getting married, then? When? Am I invited? I'd better be invited."

Light chuckled lightly. "Not yet, Anna; not yet. But I'm thinking about it…."

"Well, I think you two should marry and that's that," she huffed, frowning.

He looked at her, cocking an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"_Yes _really. Just like Sam and L should get married, and Sierra and Mello."

"And not you and Near?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm _thirteen, _Light."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "_Well_…."

"Stop being stupid," she scowled. "I just say you and Aunt Natalie are already married in my head, so you should just get married already." She beamed at him, her eyes glowing. "And then we can be family, and you can _live _here! Wouldn't that be great, Light?"

He laughed lightly. "Yeah, I guess it would, wouldn't it?"

"So propose or whatever soon," Anna said matter-of-factly.

"I told you, Anna," Light replied good-naturedly. "I'm just thinking about it. Maybe it will be sooner, maybe it will be later." He smiled. "Though I can assure you it will happen eventually."

"Yay!"

The sound of the vacuum upstairs stopped, but there _were_ a few more thumps, courtesy of moi.

Light rubbed his forehead, laughing weakly. "Don't hurt us; jeez…."

Anna only giggled.

* * *

The task force would meet up again the next day, in the same hotel and the same room. L sent Aizawa a message saying that he had created the cover case, and that they would come at the same time in the morning as last time, in the same intervals but with different ordering of people. First would come Ide and Matsuda.

Apparently, Matsuda thought it necessary to enlighten Ide in all enthusiasm of Sam and L's marriage. ("Aren't their rings so pretty, though, Ide? It's all so _sweet_!") It irritated all three of those in his company, as well as made them all feel very awkward. Mostly Ide. Or perhaps it was Sam…. Hm. How to measure awkwardness, I wonder.

Well, in any case, Aizawa and Mogi would arrive soon after, and the meeting would commence.

"I have created the cover case that all of you will be filed to work on now," L informed the four of them. "Now we can all work together on the Kira case again. It is true that we once had eight members of our group. We no longer have Light or Natalie, and we've lost Ukita and Chief Yagami…. However, we do, at least, have Ide now. Eight to five isn't so bad as long as we try our hardest."

"…Does Sam not count?" asked Mogi.

"No. She and I have the same thoughts," L explained.

"But L is, like, ten people with _his _mind," Matsuda pointed out with a grin.

Sam raised her hand. "Can it be eleven with me in his head?"

"Sure!"

Ide frowned.

"Let's just move on," said Aizawa.

"Yes," L agreed. He looked around at all of them. "Near appointed me to the job of taking care of Mikami. I intend to do this.

"There were four sites throughout Tokyo that the police have investigated; abandoned homes or hideouts with the belongings still in them. It is speculated by the police force that these are refuges for convicts on the run. Criminals who are hiding from society either in shame or fear under the reign of Kira. And for three of those four sites, I do believe that is the case.

"However, I am under the impression that one of these abandoned hideouts belonged to Mikami. The chance of it is below five percent, but it is a chance I am willing to act upon." Sam placed a map of Tokyo on the table while L pulled out a marker from his pocket. "The four sites are here…" – he circled a place on the map – "…here, here, and here," he said, circling each spot. "I'd like you to search within a five-kilometer radius of a site…."

Aizawa held up a hand to stop him, furrowing his brow. "But that's…."

"…A lot of kilometers," Matsuda said blankly.

"About three hundred fourteen square kilometers for all four sites, yes," L responded. "Which is why I'd like you to go to each site and obtain DNA evidence. This way we know which site is our center point. Then there is much less area to cover, and there is more of a chance to find Mikami."

"And we'll know for sure Mikami was there, then!" Matsuda exclaimed happily.

"I'd like you to get on it as soon as possible," L added.

Aizawa put his closed hand to his chin to stifle a smile. He coughed. "It feels good to be back on the case, Ryuzaki."

"Yeah!" Matsuda agreed. "It's just like old times, right guys? It's just like it's the beginning of the Kira case again!"

"Just with a few missing recruits…," said Aizawa.

"And one new one," Ide came in.

"I agree," L concurred. "It is just like then. We've come around full circle; and though things have changed we have begun anew at the same point."

"Yet we're farther this time," Sam pursed her lips. "It's like the theory of history repeating itself…."

"…In a way," said L.

"Well, whatever it's like, I'm excited," Matsuda beamed. "We're back in the game, guys!" He held up his hand to Aizawa for a high-five. Aizawa quirked an eyebrow, but high-fived him anyway.

"I'm looking forward to working with you again, Ryuzaki," Mogi said to L, bowing his head slightly.

"As I with you, Mogi. I have always respected you," L responded in turn.

Ide offered a lopsided half-smile. "Let's hope we all get out alive this time, huh, L? I mean… Ryuzaki."

"Yes, Ide. Let's hope. I apologize I don't meet your standards."

"Mm…."

He smiled. "Now let's all prove Near that we are more efficient than he is. Let's prove him wrong."

"Yeah!" Matsuda cheered, and Sam grinned along with him.

* * *

"Noo, you can't come, you weirdo," Sara spoke to her brother Kenji. Sara Shizu – the girl that found Mikami and took him in. You know; the one with the dark hair and hipster glasses. Gotta love the hipster glasses. Kenji was her little brother, the one with the wide blue eyes.

Mikami could hear them speaking from the guest room he was given. He was currently making his bed. Everything had to be neat. Perfect.

"Why not? Are you conspiring against Kira?" Kenji responded.

"Where the hell do you learn those words, Kenji?"

"Books."

Mikami heard Sara sigh. "You can't come, Kenji, because I don't want you there."

"I'll tell mom."

"She already knows I'm going without you, idiot!" Mikami heard her footsteps, and turned to see her head pop into his doorway. "Mr. Mikami, you can come if you'd like," she smiled, and Mikami gazed at her.

"Where are you going, exactly?" he inquired.

"I'm going to my friend Shiori's," she answered him brightly. "She doesn't think that any criminal should die, just like me, so I'm sure she'll like you. I'm seeing her one more time before she goes off to America with her parents for a few years. I thought you might want to meet her."

Mikami frowned slightly. "Wouldn't it be dangerous for me to go outside in the daylight?"

Sara waved him off. "They have tinted windows on their car."

Mikami's eyes narrowed a bit. "Why?"

"I dunno…. Shiori's daddy's weird. Something to do with seeing others when they can't see you, or something."

He almost-squinted at her. "…Alright…."

"So do you wanna come? It's your only chance to meet her."

"Will she or her parents give me away?"

"What?" asked Sara, and she blinked. "Oh, no, no. She and her parents are all good with criminals. I mean, they don't love crime or anything, but they believe they should have a chance. I think one of her parents used to be in a gang, actually…."

Mikami gazed at her dully. Was she serious? Well, he just supposed this was an example of people who didn't quite accept Kira yet…. Maybe he could indirectly divert their views to Kira's side… or at the very least make sure they weren't planning anything. "…Fine, I can go if you'd like me to."

"Of course; that's great!" she exclaimed brightly. She ran forward and grabbed his wrist, pulling him forward. "Then I guess you're coming."

"Bye, Mr. Mikami," said Kenji, staring after them as she ran herself and Mikami down the stairs.

Mikami gave him a nod in acknowledgement, refusing to follow Sara at anything faster than a walk.

"Come on, Mr. Mikami, I hear their car in the driveway." She looked at him as she reached the front door. "Now, her parents are a little weird, so I hope you're okay with that."

"What do you mean?" he asked flatly.

"You'll see. Trust me, they're actually real nice," she beamed, leading him out the door. With a light sigh, he followed her out to a white car that had what was, in fact, tinted windows.

A man with dark hair and narrow eyes rolled down the driver seat's window. "Good afternoon!" he called up to them.

"Hey, Itsuo!" Sara called back with a wave. "I'm bringing my friend!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah!" She turned to address Mikami. "Move fast if you really don't want to be seen, okay?"

Mikami nodded and made his way into the car, sliding into the middle seat next to a girl with brown hair dyed a dirty blond, her mouth filled with braces. She smiled at Mikami and gave him a rapid wave. She then set her hand back down on the car seat. "Hi!" she greeted as Sara came in behind Mikami and sat down herself before closing the car door. "So, you're Mikami?" said the girl who was presumably Shiori. "I honestly didn't think Sara'd find anyone."

"Or save anyone," Itsuo piped up from the front. His hand gripped the lever on the side of his seat and pulled it up, allowing his seat to fall back. One foot remained on the steering wheel. The guy was staring at Mikami, and Mikami did not like it one bit. "So you're Teru Mikami. I guess the world's out to get you, huh?" he asked him.

"Shouldn't you be looking at the road?" Mikami answered flatly.

"Why? Does this worry you?"

"Yes," he frowned.

Itsuo laughed and brought his seat back up, putting his hands back on the steering wheel. "So what'd you do to get Near after you?" Mikami didn't know how to describe that tone. Cheerful? Playful? Mocking? It better not have been mocking.

"He framed me to be a murderer simply because I was suspected of being involved with Kira."

"Oh god," said Shiori. "You aren't, right?"

"Of course not. All of this is completely unnecessary."

"Life's not fair, Teru," Itsuo sang. "Can I call you Teru? I'm going to call you Teru."

Mikami frowned, but said nothing to protest. Sara and Shiori began to converse animatedly to one another, Mikami stuck in the middle. He decided he'd rather strike a conversation with Itsuo. He didn't know why, but so far he didn't really like him. "May I ask why you have tinted windows?" he asked him.

"Oh, I just find it fun to know that I can see everyone out there, but they can't see me," he answered in an almost amused tone.

Mikami furrowed his brow. "I see," he said. From there he just chose to remain silent. It didn't take that long to make it to Shiori's house, which was apparently an apartment building. Shiori and Sara shooed Mikami into the house, Itsuo walking behind at a leisurely pace. At the last moment he leapt in front of the three of them and spun on his heel to face them.

"Welcome to the Heiwahara household!" he hailed Mikami brightly, spreading his arms.

There was a low voice that permeated the air, deep and threatening. "_Itsuooo_…."

"Oh boy," said Sara, and Shiori giggled.

A tissue box sailed through the air, aimed for Itsuo's head, but Itsuo ducked with a "Whoops!"

Another man with blond hair came down the stairs in only a dress shirt, bowtie, and boxers. "_Where the hell are my pants?!_"

"Whatever do you mean, Shini-chan?" Itsuo responded in a sing-song voice. "I don't even—" He was cut off by a water bottle hitting him smack in the face.

"Like _hell _you don't know!" the man called 'Shini-chan' responded in all irritation, then finishing his entrance down the stairs to confront Itsuo.

Mikami watched the scene without expression.

"Don't worry; this is normal," Shiori assured him.

"…Are they a couple?" Mikami asked without much inflection.

"Oh, yeah," Sara answered. "They're gay."

"…Isn't it illegal for gays to marry?" Mikami frowned.

"Oh, we're not married," Itsuo came in, being held by the collar by 'Shini-chan.' Said blond ground his teeth. "Oh come now, be gentle," Itsuo sang.

"No one said they couldn't live together," Shiori shrugged.

Mikami watched the scene between the two men continue to be played out, unsure of what to think of it. _Why am I here? _he thought to himself in dull tones as he watched.

Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

**Okay, so uh, that last scene was almost kind of a request; um, if you get the reference, I don't know whether to apologize, so...uh... Sorry?**

_**Fun Fact**_**: Big Durarara reference, though I don't even like the pairing displayed that much. It was a request by Real-life Sam, as well as Sarah, a friend of hers whom Shiori was based on.**

**Review? For tissue boxes, sailing through the air!**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Bella Birthday**_**: **Uwah, I'm so glad to have made you laugh! Er, sorry the update is late in that case... ^^; I feel bad...

_**B**_**: **Actually, that's one of my current problems. After not writing this for awhile, I have no idea what's going on anymore. xD I have files and papers and little notebooks scattered with information on them though. They help, when I know where they are, ehehe... Without them I'd be doomed. ^^;  
Agh, I've been busy too... Ah, convention day? How exciting! I've got one tomorrow, hehe~~

**So sorry this update is late- I'm just very busy; ahh, sorryyyy...**

**E-enjoy the chapter, though...!**

* * *

I downed my pills for the day, two little capsules from a container labeled _Concor_. I'd had to take medication since the time I had that heart attack about a month ago. I had to take it every morning, and I probably would _keep_ taking it for the rest of my life. Fun. I guess I didn't mind, actually, since it meant better assurance of not having another one. Heart attacks weren't so fun. I was glad we were only placing that death on those who deserved it.

The only real troublesome thing about my meds was the fact I kept having low blood pressure. And normally that was alright, but every so often I would get real lightheaded… and in these dizzy moments I couldn't feel Light's presence anymore, and he couldn't feel mine. We hated it.

But hey, it could have been worse. At least I wasn't dead. That would suck, I should think. I really don't want to die.

As I had already had breakfast, I headed out the door to head to NPA headquarters. Anna called a goodbye, and I responded in turn. Ryuk floated behind me like a shadow… a winged shadow. That talked.

"We're low on apples again, Natalie…."

I ran a hand through my hair with a sigh. "Light has apples at his house. Follow him for awhile instead."

"But his house isn't as fun…," Ryuk responded, sounding a bit unhappy.

"Oh?" I asked, uninterested. "Why's that?"

"Well, it's just Light, and he's just not as fun ever since he couldn't get his memories back. I guess he's been kinda getting more interesting… especially after Misa died." He snickered, and I frowned, giving him a look. "But he can't talk to me anyway because of the wiretaps. Plus, you have Anna."

"Well, Ryuk, you can stay with me if you'd like, it'd just mean no apples until after I go shopping."

Ryuk sighed but did not leave me. It didn't matter to me anyway where Ryuk happened to be. The only time it would matter would be if someone was to touch the notebook or its pages, and that simply would not be happening anytime soon.

I reached NPA headquarters eventually, immediately going up the elevator to reach the level of my workplace. I walked into the large room that was our headquarters to find Matsuda holding miscellaneous items as he headed my way – out of NPA headquarters.

"Where are you off to?" I asked him, and he looked at me.

"Oh, hi, Natsumi! Uh, I gotta go out for a case."

"Really?" I asked. "Which case? Do we have a lead on Mello?"

"No; no…. It's a new case I'm on," he told me, shifting on his feet in a way that told me he was a bit uncomfortable talking about it. "It's confidential, so I can't say what it's about; sorry, Natsumi…."

"No, it's fine," I responded. "It's good that you're doing your job."

"Y…yeah. See you later, Natsumi!" I nodded to him as he walked out of the room. I turned to watch him go, but then just walked to where I needed to be. It was time to work.

* * *

"I think I'm finally done," said Matt, stepping away from the car they'd hijacked last Saturday.

"Really?" Sierra asked brightly, sitting on the edge of the concrete. The car sat just below the concrete in a sort of low parking space.

"Well, not entirely. I'll eventually have to do a test run…." He sighed as he pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. "…Just not now," he finished as he flicked the lighter on and lit the cigarette.

Sierra frowned slightly, but said nothing, bringing her knees to her chest.

"This baby's gonna be damn _epic _when we use it, though," Matt told her matter-of-factly, nodding to himself. He paused. "At least,_ I'll_ enjoy it."

"What'd you do to it?"

"You'll see once we get to using it, alright, Sierra?"

"Meh!" she frowned.

Matt chuckled, then eyed her as he exhaled a stream of smoke. Something seemed off, despite her usual cheerful and indignant responses. "Is something the matter?" he asked in an off tone. Hesitant; unsure if he was hearing it or not.

Sierra seemed to shift. "I'm fine," she told him.

"Are you sure? You know you can talk, right?"

She didn't say anything. Then, "I hate August."

Matt blinked, dumbfounded. "…Why do you hate August?"

"August ninth was my mom's birthday," she said flatly. "I hate it."

"…Is that why you're upset?" Matt inquired, walking over to her to sit down beside her.

Sierra shifted again. "It's not just that, I guess. Just… what do you consider a home?"

Matt looked at her for a second through those orange-tinted goggles. "Home?" he repeated, then looked up to the ceiling of concrete. "Well… it's a place where you feel comfortable and safe and loved, I think. I kinda don't know what my home is…." He frowned contemplatively. "Every home I might have had is kinda gone. I mean, I guess I consider Wammy's a home… but… I dunno. I think my place is with you and Mello. Why?"

She stared at the ground. "I get what it feels like to have a home ripped away. But… the way you describe 'home'… I guess where I used to be wasn't so much a home…. Except for when I was with my dad and my sister…. I think…that was my home…. But I can't be there anymore since I was taken to this world…." She curled a little tighter. "Yet I want to stay here…. And I can't tell anymore…."

Matt thought about this for a minute before he spoke again. "Well, are you comfortable here?" he asked her.

She looked at him. "Yeah, I guess…. I think of you like an older brother, and I'm synced with Mello, so…."

"Do you feel safe here?"

She furrowed her brow. "I know you or Mello would make sure I was okay if something happened."

"Do you feel loved?"

Sierra paused. In all honesty, she still sometimes felt that worthlessness she would feel every so often. Sometimes more often. It was harder to feel now that she was at the final stage with Mello, but it _would _come up sometimes. It was happening less so, so much less, but she would still feel it _sometimes_, and in those times she didn't know if she was loved or not. The Bond seemed to not help it. It was like a disruption in the flow of their interconnected consciousnesses. This feeling would overtake Mello's own thoughts of her with worth, something to be saved and cherished. Something he actually cared about. I mean, the feeling would eventually fall through and Mello's opposing feelings would flood the void the lack of this particular feeling would create when it disappeared.

She thought of Matt. Sierra really did see him like an older brother… and he _was _the one that stopped her from letting go of that railing…. He did listen to her, and he actually understood some of the things she went through. So yes, she could believe that he loved her as if she were a sister. She believed him. Sierra thought of the night she'd given Mello her deepest secret; how he told her that he loved her even though he didn't want to admit it. And she didn't want to believe it at first… but he convinced her. He loved her too, and yes, she believed him. At this point, she kinda had to, what with the mind synchronization they had.

She _was _loved. Even going backwards to being with Anna, and me, and even Sam…. We cared about her too. Even though now even we had been taken away from her because of this whole Kira business….

"Yeah," she answered Matt softly.

"So, maybe your home is with us, huh?" he asked brightly.

"Maybe…." She paused again. "Hey, Matt?" she asked him.

"Yeah, Sierra?"

"You know how I have a mask… right?" Her voice was quiet; much quieter than it usually was.

Matt blinked. "You mean with the fake emotions and most everything being an act? That mask?"

"Yeah…."

"Yeah, I kinda got that…. Why?"

"I want to lose my mask, Matt…. I want to let it fade. I want to be me."

He looked at her for a moment, then smiled. "You know, Sierra," he said, bringing his arm around her shoulders, "I think that's a great idea. I can't wait to see you."

Sierra smiled slightly in return. "Yeah…."

* * *

B subconsciously traced his finger along his not-quite-healed laceration on his arm from when he'd shoved his arm through the mirror. How many wounds had he gotten since after Sophia died, now? Ten marks on his chest from his own hands. A stab wound from Annalisa. And now this. He'd rarely gotten hurt at all before her death….

He shifted slightly in his chair, almost thoughtful. He supposed it was a good thing that he knew how to take care of himself when it came to these things, otherwise he'd be caught with infection and blood loss galore, not to mention the two worst wounds likely wouldn't have healed properly. And that would prove problematic in the things he had to achieve.

Beyond sat in utter silence, and he listened to it in all calmness. Silence. It was one of his closest friends, along with darkness. He remembered thinking that the silence had betrayed him after Sophia had been killed, but really it was just that one of its constant whispers had left. ('It's not you, it's me.' Hahaha.) It had seemed foreign to him. Now he could thrive in silence once again and listen to the secrets it disclosed to only a select few.

He inhaled deeply, listening to the way the air shifted, then exhaled slowly and silently. He listened to the silence. His soft breathing. His heartbeat.

(_I am alive._)

"What is the true meaning of the word?" he breathed. "What is being?"

It was breathing in and out. It was having a heartbeat. It was having lifeblood flowing through your veins; pumped through your arteries. It was thinking and feeling.

_What if you can't feel?_

B gazed intently at the wall, leaning back comfortably in his chair. The tips of his fingers still brushed at the red, sore line on his arm; skin pulled together like a piece of paper cut in half and glued crudely back together. He heard dry, mirthless chuckling and figured he was hearing himself.

The question was silly. He'd already established that he was something above a human. Something more. Born with these eyes; born seeing the numbers…. And the nothing he'd felt since he was young. It was different than normal human beings; it was as simple as that. He could take lives; that alone raises anyone above humankind. Sometimes it places someone below. Although, he felt that who he was now was above the person he was before Sophia was killed. Before he met her, even.

One could say he was less than a person, being cut in half. But it was wrong. He was only half a being, maybe, but he'd gone over an edge that he hadn't even quite approached before. It opened doors in his mind that he had never opened, or opened doors that he had before closed. The more doors he opened, he conjectured, the higher above humanity he would be. The more he knew, the more he'd endured, the more he'd grasped… then the greater he would truly be.

It is said that ignorance is bliss. Some say that it is better to know nothing than know it all. Ignorance is bliss, yes, and this knowledge _was _a burden. Most humans could not take such experience. Most of them withdraw, become depressive, and try to close as many doors in their head as they can because they don't want any more; or grow bitter and cold, placing their pain on others for no real reason; or dull their minds with alcohol to try and deny it; or even simply become so overwhelmed with it all that they go so far as to kill themselves.

But Beyond liked it. He did not enjoy it, but he _liked _it. And he did not usually _like _things. He remembered being little and not wanting any more of it. He remembered it; he did. He could admit that. He knew and grasped _Death_; he'd watched people die at a young age. Innocence died. A door was opened.

But then his mind responded with numbness, and the feeling went away. He'd endured, and he'd reached the next level. No feeling. No pain. Another door had been opened.

Then he had killed a man. The next door had been opened. It is one thing to live among your fellow man (even if he himself wasn't quite human), but to kill another man and feel no different afterwards…. That took something else. People who didn't get it said it was inhuman. And it was. It was completely and utterly not-human.

But he'd closed the door in his mind to his memories, and he _did _so love to act. He'd once so enjoyed making himself look insane, look like a monster, look so _wrong _to any normal human. He wore his mask and forgot who he once was, transforming himself into his new persona, _Beyond Birthday_.

But now; now he remembered his past and accepted it. He knew who he was in the past, and who he was in the present. Not only that, but he knew how to take off his mask now.

He'd died and lived again; he'd known connection and trust and had lost both; he'd been ripped in half; he'd known what it felt like to let himself care. He had achieved his highest point. Here, he knew true Nothingness. The Full Moon and the Fog were simply the fragments of him that could not take this. Perhaps they were the pieces of him that were closer to humanity.

Here, though, in the Nothingness, he was the least human being on earth. It was not the numb nothing he'd once had; this was a Nothing that had such cold clarity; a sharpness that allowed him to truly open his eyes and mind. It was almost like living in a pitch darkness that could drown you, but seeing everything as if was fully lit.

As Beyond continued to look at the wall, he wondered vaguely if there was a different sort of place above humanity; a place of blinding light.

Oh well. He supposed he belonged in the shadows anyway.

_Ironic, really, when I've only just escaped L's shadow._

And he chuckled his low, satisfied _henh, henh, henh _just as his special little clock struck three. It was about time to leave for the café.

* * *

**Here's a note: _please _don't follow B's philosophy. I don't want anyone killing anyone or anything.**

_**Fun Fact**_**: Although the four main characters have essentially kept the same character design (they're described at the beginning of every new story), the real-life versions of them have changed quite a bit. I won't list changes here or anything, but gosh, things have changed a little, hehe...**

**Review? For philosophy, I guess?**


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